Enzo Maresca keeps Will Alves close as Leicester City’s big decision draws in

On the same night Leicester City were promoted to the Premier League, the under-21s earned perhaps their best win of the season.

As attention naturally focused on events at Loftus Road and how Leeds would fare at QPR, the development side’s 3-1 success at West Ham was somewhat overlooked. But it was a very good way for them to end their campaign.

It was already confirmed that City would finish outside the top 16 and therefore miss out on the play-offs in the new Premier League 2 format, so there wasn’t much time in the game. But against the Hammers, in second place and having lost just three of their previous 19 games, City claimed victory.

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Take a closer look at the team sheets and maybe it makes sense. City had Ben Nelson and Wanya Marcal in the squad, the pair promoted to the first team this season and also had Will Alves and Sammy Braybrooke in the squad.

The latter pair, two of the club’s most promising talents, have been out for most of the season as they recover from ACL tears suffered the previous winter. Alves made a quicker recovery but suffered muscle injuries here and there to prevent him from putting together a string of games. Braybrooke took longer to return but managed to finish the campaign with a consistent run of games.

In total, there have only been three games where both Alves and Braybrooke have been on the pitch at the same time. The first was against Manchester City and Leicester drew 1-1 when Alves came off at half-time. In the end they lost 3-1. Then there were the last two games, a 3-0 win over Stoke before the win at West Ham.

The duo has been at the heart of these successes, especially Alves. Against Stoke, he set up the first by weaving around defenders to get into the box and on the top line before laying back to Oli Ewing. He then raced into the box to receive Silko Thomas’ pass and cross for Ewing to score again.

Against West Ham, he did it all himself. Receiving the ball in the middle of West Ham’s half, he carried the ball around one man, got inside another and then fired from the edge of the box. That’s what Alves is all about: dribbling with speed and tight control and then making it count in the final third.

The next morning, he celebrated with the first-team squad at Seagrave, and it wasn’t just once. Alves’ approach to the senior team in the final week of the campaign suggests that Enzo Maresca sees him in the squad, even if he has failed to get a game this term. Alves went with the team to receive a medal against Blackburn, then went to Monte Carlo with the rest of the first team for a short victory holiday from the chairman.

It didn’t take long for Maresca to spot Alves’ talent. In October, when Alves started training again, the manager had a knowing smile on his face, saying the teenager had “something special”.

The question now is when will he feature for a senior team and for which team will it be. Alves’ lack of exposure so far means there is no telling what his level is.

Maresca clearly feels he has potential, but does he have the ability to make Premier League-like appearances next season? It seems extremely unlikely that he will be a prominent player in the top flight.

The decision then has to be whether his development is best served by making the odd appearance here and there and learning directly from Maresca, or spending a season on loan and getting more senior game time. It’s a difficult decision, made even more difficult by not knowing exactly where Alves is.

With very little first-team experience, it is difficult to place his ability in a senior context. If City are going to loan him out, they don’t want to send him to a club where he won’t play every week, but equally they will want him challenged so that he can progress more quickly.

Academy City is doing a great job now. It should not be taken for granted that so many local boys contribute to their championship title success, including the star of the team in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. But the right decisions must be made along the way so that their talent can be nurtured. If City get these calls right, they can make Alves a star of the team too.

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